


The First Morning

by sipuli



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angry Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Body Swap, Gen, Oneshot, Protective Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Tags Contain Spoilers, Villain Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), i know that's a meme tag but i really am, idk how to tag the relationships??, just a warning, listen i'm bad at tagging, so i only tagged techno and dream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29361663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sipuli/pseuds/sipuli
Summary: Ranboo is having a great day and he decides to visit the Dream SMP lands. There's absolutely nothing wrong, there's nothing shady going on behind everyone's back. Just Ranboo having a good time.:)
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 95





	The First Morning

Ranboo wakes up feeling better than he has felt in a long time.

He’s feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep. The headache that has been bothering him for days is gone. He has a soft, comfortable pillow under his head and a warm blanket around him.

 _You never stopped to appreciate the little things in life enough_ , he thinks.

He turns his head and sees a journal on the nightstand. _Ah, the memory book. Of course_. He reaches for it, fingers brushing against the worn out letters on the cover. 

_Do not read_.

The corner of his mouth twitches slightly as he opens the book and skims through the words. The thin reed paper rustles between his fingers, his eyes scanning the words that range from calm and collected to wild and panicky. Memories, observations, theories. Lists of friends and enemies. Everything he… Ranboo… is.

He puts it back on the nightstand before getting up. He will go through it later when he has time to really delve into it. He wants to read all of it from the very start, every word he’s written, with new eyes. A new outlook in his past.

The cold tundra looks breathtaking in the sharp morning light. Snow glimmering like a billion tiny diamonds, reflecting the sunbeams and covering everything in bright white light. The mountains draw their jagged outline on the pale blue sky, towering over the landscape so stunningly big and majestic, the immemorial spruce forest stretching out at their feet. Ranboo stretches his limbs and breathes in the cold frosty air. It feels so good to see the sky. To feel the emptiness and freedom around him.

Phil is already awake, preparing breakfast in the kitchen, when Ranboo opens the door. There is snow on the boy’s shoulders and hair, the frost has bitten his cheeks red and given his eyes a healthy glow. He looks alive. He _feels_ alive.

“Oh, Ranboo! Good morning,” Phil greets him as he steps into the room, enjoying the smell of eggs and the warmth of the fireplace. “You’re up early. Just a minute, I’m making an omelette. Care to join in for breakfast?”

“I’d love to,” Ranboo replies with a smile. He pulls up a chair and watches Phil’s back as he moves the eggs around on the frying pan. The smell is delicious. He hasn’t had the opportunity to eat a proper breakfast like this in a while. 

Phil sits down on the opposite side of the table and hands Ranboo his plate, smiling as the half-enderman gobbles down the food like he’s never seen an omelette before. “You know,” he says, “it’s good to see that you’re doing better. You’ve been kind of down lately.” 

Ranboo looks up from his food with a surprised look. “Have I?” 

Phil nods, cutting the omelette into pieces, his eyes focused on the plate. He looks like he’s trying very hard to appear casual, to not make this conversation awkward for Ranboo. “Yeah, me and Techno have both been a bit worried about you. You spend so much time alone, and you told us about your memory problems…” He looks up from his food, a gentle look on his face, eyes fixed on Ranboo’s. “I’m not asking you to tell what it’s all about, I’m just happy that you seem to be doing better. And -” he clears his throat a bit - “I want you to know that me and Techno are here, if you ever need help with anything. You don’t have to bear your burdens alone.”

Ranboo’s mismatched eyes stare into Phil’s blue ones, curiously, without falter. “Thanks, Phil,” he says, and there’s real warmth and affection in his voice. “That really means a lot.”

They finish their breakfast amidst light chatter about everyday things ranging from the cold weather to the turtle farm Phil and Techno are keeping in the mountains. Outside the window the sun is slowly climbing higher above the horizon, drowning the scenery in warm golden rays that seep through the drapes and spill puddles of light on the floor. Ranboo likes quiet mornings like this. Mornings with no rush, no need to go anywhere or do anything. Just sitting in the kitchen and existing in peace.

Eventually, though, he has to get up. He thanks Phil for the breakfast, puts on a coat and heads out, feet taking him to the Nether portal outside of the house. He hasn’t visited the actual SMP territory in a while, he’s curious to see if anything has changed. Phil mentioned something about red vines earlier. He didn’t seem to be too worried, and he said they haven’t showed up all the way here yet, but it’s still something to keep an eye on.

The journey through Nether isn’t long, and it barely takes ten minutes for Ranboo to step through the other portal. He is faced with a complete opposite to the freezing, desolate tundra - a profusion of greenery all around him, the smell of grass and flowers almost overwhelming. He can feel his face bending into a smile. The mountains are beautiful, sure, but this is where he feels at home. 

He takes his time, doesn’t hurry with his steps; he isn’t really going anywhere, he is just taking a leisure stroll around this little town. He breathes in the place with all his senses, taking in the beautiful feeling of freedom like a dry sponge. 

And finally, he arrives at the prison.

He didn’t deliberately choose to go see it, but that’s where he ends up. As if something was pulling him towards the huge, ominous building that looms over the shore. Ranboo holds back a shiver. Somehow the warm summer day feels a lot colder and darker in the building’s shadow.

He steps closer to the blackstone wall, running his hand on the shimmering black surface. He can feel the effect of the captured elder guardian, even here, outside of the prison. It makes his skin crawl. He can’t imagine how the prisoner inside the walls must be feeling.

Well, that’s not necessarily true. He can. He knows exactly how the man inside the maximum security cell is feeling right now. Exhausted from the magical fatigue, worn out by the merciless heat, weakened from the lack of proper food. _Poor, poor thing._

He turns around, getting ready to head back - and almost bumps straight into Techno.

“Techno!” Ranboo’s voice is a carefully put together mixture of cheerfulness and surprise. He raises his arm to wave at Techno, who doesn’t return the gesture. What follows is a moment of awkwardness as Ranboo puts his hand back down and clears his throat. “So, uh… what are you doing here?”

“Phil told me you two had breakfast together,” Techno says, ignoring the question. His voice is very… neutral. Not hostile, but not friendly either. Something about it makes Ranboo feel nervous.

“Yeah, Phil is an amazing cook.” He flashes a warm smile, trying not to look like he wants Techno to either explain himself or let him be.

Techno does neither of those things. Instead he takes a step closer to Ranboo. “He told me you’re doing better. I’m glad to see he was right. You have been very quiet lately.”

“I mean, that’s just who I am.” Ranboo’s voice is getting slightly more tense than before, despite his best efforts to mask it. He’s starting to feel weird about this whole conversation. Something is clearly wrong, but he doesn’t have the slightest clue of what it could be. “I’m not very… talkative. And people usually don’t talk to me that much, either.”

“Maybe not _people_ ,” Techno replies. “I’ve seen endermen talking to you, a lot, actually. I have to say it’s fascinating.”

“It is, it is. If only I knew what they’re saying.” Ranboo is aiming for a joking tone to lighten the mood, to counter Techno’s ominous and serious voice that sends shivers down his back.

What happens next is the opposite of what he wanted. Techno’s face darkens, he reaches Ranboo with a few quick strides and then he grabs the boy by his shoulders and _slams_ him against the wall hard enough to knock the air from his lungs. Ranboo reaches for his sword, except he doesn’t have one, why doesn’t he carry a sword, why doesn’t _Ranboo_ carry a sword -

“I knew something was wrong.” Techno’s voice has turned into a low, threatening growl. “Ranboo can speak Ender. _Who are you?_ ”

Time slows down around the two, seconds stretching into moments that feel like minutes. Ranboo’s panicked expression begins to change and slowly shifts into something much more sinister. His smile is no longer nervous, it’s malicious. It’s evil.

“So you finally noticed,” Dream says.

Techno tightens his grip on his shoulders. “Who are you?” he repeats. “What have you done to Ranboo?”

The face is Ranboo’s but the smile is Dream’s, and there are few things in the world that look more disturbing and _wrong_ than that.

“Don’t worry,” Dream says, words wreathing from his lips like poison. “Ranboo is in a safe place. The safest place in the entire server, actually.”

Techno is not stupid, he can connect the dots and put 2 and 2 together. Dream watches with the same cruel expression as Techno’s eyes light up with understanding.

“You…” Techno looks up, eyes climbing up the prison walls, then falling back down at Dream. “You put him in there. You two switched places.”

“Bravo. Took you long enough.” Dream’s voice is practically dripping with sarcasm.

“You won’t get away with this.”

“You think so? You really think so?” Dream grabs Techno’s wrist and moves his hand away from his shoulder with the resolve of someone who knows he’s the one who’s holding all the cards. “What do you think they’re going to say when Technoblade, a known terrorist who recently allied with Dream to destroy an entire nation, shows up at the prison and tells Sam to let his partner in crime go free? When your only reasoning is some weird story about the Dream in the cell not actually being Dream? Do you think he’s going to even consider believing you?”

Techno doesn’t answer. Dream can see straight into his head, the warrior thinks he’s so mysterious and distant with his monotone voice and perfect poker face but Dream can read him like an open book. He can see how Techno weights the options in his mind, how he considers attacking Dream or going to Sam, how he realizes that there’s nothing he can do. 

Dream’s face reflects his triumph as Techno lets go of him and takes a step back, the mental mask of stone-cold indifference on his face slightly cracking for once as he’s forced to swallow his rage. That’s not something Dream gets to see every day.

He enjoys every second of it.

“Now, if you don’t have anything else to say, I’d like to get on my way,” Dream says with an exasperatingly smug voice. He walks past Techno with slow, assured steps, basking in his victory. He can feel Techno’s eyes on his back as he makes his way towards the Prime Path.

“Oh, and Techno - one more thing,” he adds, his back still turned towards him. He doesn’t need to be facing Techno to know what kind of expression he has on his face right now. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Phil about my little trick. Or anyone, for that matter. Don’t forget that you still owe me. I trust you to keep your promise about that favor, I know how much you value loyalty.”

He knows he’s hitting a sore spot with his words. Good. Dream knows how to control people, he knows what to say and what strings to pull. There’s a lot of things to say about Techno, but if there’s one thing he is through and through, it’s a man of his word. He would hate the idea of breaking a promise, even if the said promise was made to someone he despises. 

And loyalty, oh, what a word - a word Dream says with mockery and scorn, but what means everything to Techno. Dream remembers the little argument he witnessed the day L’Manberg was erased from existence, he remembers what Techno screamed at Tommy across the crater as the explosions roared around them. “ _Don’t speak to me of loyalty._ ” He couldn’t turn his back to his own ideals, not after everything he went through with Tommy - he couldn’t live with himself knowing that he was just as bad as the kid who betrayed him.

Attachments. It all comes back to attachments, physical or not. How stupid these people are, Dream thinks, how naive, how easy to control. Techno is attached to the idea of loyalty, to his own principles of honor and promises. Dream can hold it over his head just like he used Tubbo and the discs to control Tommy, just how he used L’Manberg to control Tubbo. It’s so easy, it’s so ridiculously easy. 

These people are marionettes and attachments are strings. Dream barely has to do anything, he just has to wait for them to willingly tie the strings to their limbs and _grab_ them, and he can control the show. This is his server and the people are his dolls, every single one, from the ever so defiant Tommy to the scary and powerful Technoblade.

Ranboo will make a fine addition to his collection.

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this after Ranboo's nightmare prison visit, when a lot of people were speculating about a body swap between him and Dream. This is supposed to be Dream's first morning in freedom, just getting used to his new body and life, hence the name of the fic.
> 
> This is also the first time I had a beta reader! Wooo!


End file.
